My AP top-25 basketball poll: Week Eight (Duke’s on top, Pitt climbs)

* Duke remained on top, but I moved Pitt to No. (from 4th) after its victory over UConn. Syracuse held firm in the 3-hole, and Kansas and Ohio State both moved up a spot.

* I moved Michigan State up three spots, to No. 14, after the Spartans beat Minnesota. (The mere fact that a three-spot move is worth mentioning should tell you that it was afirly light week in terms of substantive games.)

* The latest round of ballot outrage comes from Purdue fans mystified that the Boilermakers are not on my ballot, even though they’re ranked No. 11 in the AP poll.

I had them on the ballot early in the season, dropped them after the loss to Richmond and, frankly, haven’t seen a reason to put them back on.

Their best win is probably Virginia Tech — you could argue for Michigan, but the Wolverines haven’t beaten anyone — and that’s not quite good enough for a spot on the ballot at this point in the season.

(Note to Purdue fans new to the Hotline: I don’t rank teams on potential; I ranked them based on results to date.)